Number Five is Alive

Oooh, I hope there are some children of the 80’s out there who get that reference.

So, my post doesn’t really have anything to do with the classic robot movie of the 80’s as it does with the actual number five.  And my adorable nephew.

Tomorrow this cutie turns five.  I can’t believe it!  I was lucky enough to be in town when he was born and hold him in my arms that very day.

When I was working on the streamer backdrop for my wedding, this kid was particularly interested in the project and wanted the leftovers to hang in his room.  So, I developed a little project for his fifth birthday using the leftover materials and some other cardboard scraps I had lying around.

First off, I was inspired by this post on Oh Happy Day and, as per usual, she provides great detailed instructions.  Because of this, I won’t bother going through the step-by-step instructions.  However, I’ll share some tips with the photos included below.

First, a quick review of the supply list.  Luckily, I had all of the supplies on hand, so this project cost me all of $0.00 out of pocket.  Most items can probably be found around one’s house (with the exception of the crepe paper), making this project a great way to add a lot of drama at very little cost.

Here’s what you need:

• Large cardboard box
• Masking tape
• Modge Podge glue (or any clear glue of your choice)
• Paint Brush
• Paint (optional)
• X-Acto knife or box cutter
• Scissors
• Crepe paper (oodles leftover from the aforementioned streamer project)

Check out the photo gallery for the process and lessons learned along the way.

The large five was drawn by someone with a much steadier hand than me. He made sure to add a flat-bottom to the number so it could sit on a table.

I cut out strips of cardboard about 3-inches wide to create the 3-D effect.

Here we are mid-3-D process. The cardboard strips were quite easy to manipulate. I used masking tape to attach the shaped strips to one of the large 5’s before adding the second 5.

Eventually, I painted the finished product red to add a little surprise color showing beneath the fringed crepe paper.

For some parts of the five, I simply wrapped the crepe paper around the cardboard, first applying a thin layer of glue with a paintbrush.

I covered trickier areas of the 5 by applying individual strips. While this definitely took more time, I really liked the finished look.

The final product.

So, that’s it.  What do you think of the final product?  Have you created any low-cost crafts lately?